Rick Whitaker is a Professor of Politics at the University of Leicester. He is currently a Parliamentary Academic Fellow, working with staff in the Commons Library, select committees and Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. From January 2023 until September 2024, he was the Thematic Research Lead for Parliament, Public Administration and the Constitution in the UK Parliament.

Please tell us a little bit about how you entered academia and your academic career

I did an undergraduate degree in Politics and Contemporary History having never studied politics before. I immediately got higher marks in politics than in history modules and found the subject deeply fascinating, (not that I don’t love history too!). When I came to the end of my undergraduate degree I felt like I still needed to learn more and was, by that point, really interested in comparative European politics. So I took an MA (Econ) degree in European Politics and Policy and part-way through the year, started working up a PhD proposal under the guidance of Professor David Farrell who became my PhD supervisor. After failing at the last stage in the process of getting on the NHS management training scheme, I started a PhD after my MA. Towards the end of my doctoral study, I was lucky enough to get a temporary job as a lecturer at the University of Salford, where I had studied as an undergraduates.

Which five books/articles (written by someone else) have been most important to you in your academic career?

These are all books that were really important to me in the early stages of figuring out how to be a political scientist in the world of legislative studies.

Richard Corbett, Francis Jacobs and Michael Shackleton, The European Parliament (various editions). This for me was the Bible of the European Parliament, central to understanding how it works.

Gary Cox and Mathew McCubbins (1993) Legislative Leviathan. The centrality of party to their understanding of how the US Congress operates and how it is organised internally drew me into the world of understanding committees in legislatures.

Arend Lijphart, Democracies: Patterns of Majoritarian and Consensus Government in Twenty-One Countries. This is a classic comparative politics book and important, for me, for understanding how to situate legislatures and executives in a comparative context.

Keith Krehbiel, Information and Legislative Organisation. The combination of rational choice theory with interview material and empirics make this a fascinating study of legislative organisation.

Amie Kreppel, The European Parliament and Supranational Party System: A Study in Institutional Development. This was crucial for understanding how the European Parliament could be studied in a theoretically and methodologically sophisticated way.

Which people have been most influential and important to you in your academic career?

All those who taught me as an undergrad at the University of Salford and on my MA at the University of Manchester. They developed and nurtured my fascination with politics and political science. Beyond that I’d say (in alphabetical order of surnames): Phil Cowley for teaching me how to write (I’m still learning though), my PhD supervisor David Farrell for encouraging and mentoring me and showing me how to be a political scientist, Simon Hix for showing how the EU can be analysed through the lens of comparative politics, Philip Lynch for his astonishing grasp of detail and huge knowledge of British politics (and willingness to work with me early in my career), and Shane Martin for his work on legislatures in a comparative context and wonderful research questions.

Which of your own pieces of research are you most proud of?

My book on the European Parliament’s committees brought together a lot of research from over quite a time period. I need to write another one!

What has been your greatest achievement in academia?

Having the chance to work in one of the institutions I study (the UK Parliament) for nearly two years has been a wonderful experience for which I will be ever thankful.

What is the first or most important thing you tell your students about parliaments?

That they vary hugely beyond the minimal definition that they give assent to laws.

Where were you born, where did you grow up, and where do you live now?

I was born in Stockport and I grew up in Bramhall. I now live in Nottingham.

What was your first job?

Apart from a paper round and some gardening work, my first job was working in the carpets and rugs department (on a Sunday) in Lewis’s – now long gone – department store in Manchester.

What would your ideal job be, if not an academic?

Working as a parliament specialist in the Commons Library or being a professional musician. 

What are your hobbies?

Music. I play piano and keyboards and I am the accompanist for a choir in Beeston where I live. I used to play in bands during my PhD and when at school. A good friend gave me the chance to do this again as part of a wedding band this year, which was so much fun. I could really do with an excuse to keep doing this!

What are your favourite music albums?

I have quite varied musical tastes from progressive rock, through jazz, classical and including dance and pop music. In short, I love music. It is hard to pick one favourite album but among those I could not do without are Tears for Fears’ album The Seeds of Love, Going for the One by Yes, Oscar Peterson’s Mellow Mood and Jacob Collier’s Djesse series. 

What is your favourite artwork?

I don’t claim to have a good knowledge of art but I love Salvador Dali’s paintings for the way he bends reality and juxtaposes objects in bizarre ways.

What is your favourite sport?

I am a lifelong Formula 1 fan. I love the cars and the speed and the overtaking, when it happens.

Hybrid proceedings in Parliament: yes please or no thanks?

Yes please.

Appointed or elected upper chamber?

Elected but in a way that creates differences with the Commons (such as representing different parts of the UK in a quasi-federal system).

Restoration or Renewal?

Renewal.

Cat or Dog?

Both.

Trains, planes or automobiles?

Trains, when they are working properly.

Fish and chips or Curry?

I can’t choose, I love them both!

Scones: Cornish or Devonshire method?

Cream first, whichever method that is!

And, finally, a question asked by 6-year old Viveka: What was your favourite toy as a child?

The earliest favourite toy I can remember is a Fisher Price garage. Beyond that, it is hard to choose between the Scalextric set we had and my first (sort of) ‘keyboard’, a Casio VL-Tone.